#comparative tarot

The Shadowscapes Fool always felt like freedom to me, a soul about to learn to fly. The movement of the card is very buoyant, and honestly it sets the tone for the rest of the deck very well. Shadowscapes has always been a very positive read for me, even the commonly negative cards. Having a Fool that feels so free and full of promise is very indicative of the kinds of reads I've gotten from this deck. It's tonally light and optimistic. This Fool is not weighed down by a bindle, seeming more content to let the Universe provide, and its animal companion of a fox seems more like a content observer than an active participant. Its "cliff" is more of a pillar, suggesting less an unwitting fall and more a deliberate climb to a great high perch, as children tend to do when presented with anything climbable. It is a very fun card, filled in equal parts with levity and determination that calls to mind the boundless energy and dreams of youth.

The Silhouettes Fool follows the RWS template fairly faithfully with bindle and dog. This was the first deck that made me really examine the RWS "standard" and get curious about what I missing out on by not familiarizing myself with it. This Fool is another pretty good representative of the whole deck; most of the Sil. cards follow the RWS composition with a flourished and fairytail twist. (You might notice as this series goes on places where I've drawn directly on the Sil. cards with sharpie; this is a "defective" deck according to its artist, and so I felt very comfortable adding my own "defects" to really connect with it and make it my own).

The two Children of the Wheel decks (Litha and Ostara) are interesting foils to each other. Both face the same direction, both are poised on a cliff’s edge. But one is reaching out for a bird and the other is being menaced from behind by a snake. Both are oblivious to the imminent threat, though the animal inspired one is actively causing its own peril by over reaching, while the plant based one is simply too absorbed in what it is focused on to notice danger is approaching. They both embody a sort of blissful ignorance, just in different ways. Again, the idea of flight is present, in the form of the bird and the dandelion. The included animals, however, are less companion and more ambient parts of nature that are about to serve as a catalyst for change. In Litha, the Fool longs for the wings of the bird – her journey is a desired one, if not entirely well planned. In Ostara, the Fool is about be forced from the nest, so to speak. Both are about to learn how to turn falling into flying.

Xia’s third deck, The Nameless One, is where we really start to depart from the familiar. Litha and Ostara are about exploring the intersection of humanity with animal and plant energies respectively. In contrast, one of the major focuses of The Nameless One was to remove all human figures entirely. So here we have a Fool with no teetering figure, but a central focus that is still in imminent danger nonetheless. The only visual language this card shares with the RWS is a prominent sun, and the general directionality of the card's motion.

A white butterfly flies above the waiting mouths of a venus flytrap, lit by a distant sun. Once again, Xia evokes flight as a theme for the Fool, but no cliff is to be seen. In fact, The Nameless One deck is completely borderless and without background, highlighting its symbols and sigils on vast, black voids. Intended as a scrying surface, the emptiness of Nameless’s background invites one to wander the shapes of the sigil each carries. The Fool’s sigil evokes wings, a figure with arm’s upraised, and the fletching of an arrow. It is not the easy, straightforward iconography of the RWS, but if one takes the time to translate it, The Nameless One carries all the same ideas of flight, freedom, motion, and the poised moment between cause and effect.

I've been working with the Nameless One for a few years now and it's still one I turn to the guidebook for a lot. I was really surprised to see how VERY different this card is from all the other Fools. It's been reassuring, helping me understand why I still struggle to ID The Nameless One on sight sometimes. The symbolism is there, but the familiar iconography is not. I'm really looking forward to continuing this series and seeing how this trend develops.

Finally, new to this blog, the Shapeshifters Tarot!

Image ID: The “Fool” Card from the Shapeshifters Tarot, named “Initiation”

Like Litha, this deck aims to explore the connections between human and animal energy. But, more like the Nameless, this deck departs wildly from the standard RWS in a lot of places. It has some extra major arcana cards, and riffs on the standard card names. Instead of the Fool, card 0 here is Initiation, and focuses on the idea of deliberate transformation. Where other Fools might suggest caution, looking before you leap, Initiation encourages you to take flight, much like my Shadowscapes Fool. This card is less about the innocence of a traditional Fool and more about transition; an initiate to anything is no ignorant novice, but rather someone simply taking a first formal step into an arena they’ve already had some experience with. If most Fools align with someone more childlike, this Fool resonates with me as more of a teen or young adult-- still new to the lifestage they are entering, but not completely untried. This Fool goes forth already armed with some knowledge (as seen with the staff they hold, which could be likened to the RWS bindle) and a mighty companion in their dragonself (far more fearsome than the diminutive RWS dog). The goal of the Shapeshifters Tarot is to serve both as oracle and teacher, to guide its seekers into new states of consciousness, aligned with the animal allies presented therein. So its no wonder their “Fool” is instead an Initiate, ready to explore the tradition of Celtic shapeshifting as presented through the co-authors and artist.

And now, like all these Fools, we have taken our first steps into exploring the shared iconography of RWS inspired decks. Even on this very first step of the journey, I feel already changed. The intention behind these decks choices feels clearer, and I’m eager to see more trends develop and gain even more insight into my favorite oracle tools. Next up, the master of balance and a card well suited to helping us incorporate these new insights: The Magician.

With some of the Minors, I think the creator just picked their favorite scenes. Conflict/Aggression= the Seamus explodes stuff bit? Some I can justify—Sirius in the Prophet upended everyone’s worldviews. Some I can’t. Six of Cups—roughly nostalgia, Pleasure in Thoth—is….Skele-Gro?  It doesn't make any more sense as the Six of Cups--nostalgia, childhood innocence, regrowing a broken bone in an arm that feels like a droopy glove?

Three of Pentacles, collaborative work or Work—a headstone, I love the Seven of Pentacles art for the Ten of Wands. The Knight Bus apprentice card/prudence? Maybe. I can sort of see that with Stan as someone learning a trade--but it's a stretch.

Their Court Cards! There are portraits for every Page, and I…don’t get them. Associating characters to Court Cards is a great way to learn them. The Fat Lady is…the student of the mind? I think the Page of Wands is Mr. Ollivander, in which case….if you’re going that literal, um…King.  

Most of the Cups make little sense to me. Professor Sprout is the Page, when she was made to be the Queen of Pentacles/Disks. I’d think she was going for all Hufflepuffs, with Cedric as the King of Cups,  but Arthur Weasley is the Knight. (Real epitome of the fiery romantic, there.) Trelawny as the Page of. The earth suit? I’ll take Lockhart as the King, but where was he at the Seven of Swords? 

In no way is Molly Weasley the Queen of Swords. Pentacles, sure. Cups, okay. Swords, no.

Pentacles are practical, related to material goods. Sybil Trelawny could not be more opposite to that. Speaking of:

I could almost accept him as the Knight of Pentacles, because he'd be in the pursuit of wealth. But the Kingh of Pentacles is honest, stable, and--NOT AN AIRHEAD

Here, I start to wonder if this creator thinks Pentalces are associated with communication and intellect. The abundance of letters could work then--from Vernon's perspective it is the Ten of Swords. You can--I'm learning--make a zodiac-based because the card is Virgo in Mercury--and maybe that explains some of the other choices, but when this is otherwise presented as an RWS deck, it's a strange thing to do.

And the courts still don't make sense.

Fred and George as “the Fool” could work, but I wonder if was done just because their birthday is 4/1. Look at that Hermione! Strength, right? Oh. The Star…? Okay. 

Back at HP Tarot, I wouldn’t have assigned the Malfoys to Cups, but when I consider it, yes. They care deeply for each other.

Someone explain Death to me. Is that the Dark Mark? Compare to The Veil. Temperance….did we misunderstand Ginny’s temper?

PHOTO NEEDED

Both use Fawkes for The Sun, and here I can say I love the Wizards Tarot choice. I also like their Justice. When they do experimental things like that, it’s great. Lovers too shows the same idea in different ways. 

These two parallels basically sume it up for me. The choice that made me buy the HP Tarot was Lily holding baby Harry as the Empress. WT uses James as the Emperor. But the Empress…? As much as my mind wants a doe, that’s a unicorn. For the symbol of fertility.. There's something so much more visceral about seeing Lily holding Harry, and James standing, the lion, steadfast. The Lovers being Remus and Tonks--possibly in both?--is perfect, especially as we know it is both a union of love and of choice. But the skeletons are painful, and don't read right with a deck that uses Draco's stick figure drawings in the Ten of Swords.

All of that said, The Wizard's Tarot has its moments. This, for instance:

Dobby is a free elf.

The Rider Waite Smith Magician holds a wand aloft and stands behind a table that contains representations of the four elements: a large pentacle for earth, a chalice for water, a sword for air* and a staff for fire. The background is lush with plant life, implying our Magician is practicing outside in a prosperous garden.

*When I first started learning tarot, I struggled a lot with the elemental associations with swords and wands. To me, wands feel more air and swords more fire. Imagine my surprise and delight when I cracked open the Shapeshifter tarot to find it agreed with me!

One of the first things I noticed about a repeated visual language in tarot was the similarities between The Magician and the Two of Pentacles. When I can’t sleep, I like to picture tarot cards in my head, and when I was teaching myself the Shadowscapes deck, I would often get hung up on certain cards, such as mentally calling up the Two of Pentacles when I was trying to recall the Magician.

I’ve always associated the Magician with a delicate balancing act, and the Two of Pents is very dynamically in balance, whereas the Magician’s posture appears much more stable. But when we compare it to the RWS, the Shadowscapes Magician becomes more obvious. His wings bear talismans for each element, the background is thick with plant life, and he wears the same infinity knot halo.

So of course, I pulled out the RWS Two of Pentacles to have a look.

The RWS Magician and Two of Pentacles aren’t quite as similar as the Shadowscapes duo are, but the use of a mobius strip/infinity symbol is repeated. The Two of Pents repeats it by wrapping the symbol around the two coins the figure is balancing, but that’s where the similarities end for RWS. The Two’s background is far more distant than the Magician’s, and features ships on a tossing sea rather than a rich, earthy garden. Possibly it’s meant to evoke the risk of fortunes in a ocean-based trade era?

Silhouettes starts to really show its whimsy in these cards, evoking a bit of a circusy energy. The Magician still has an infinity halo, but also an iconic stage magician’s tophat. He is surrounded by the four elements in the presence of a stage magician’s rabbit (earth) and dove (air), and also a fish (water) and salamander (fire). The Two of Pents has a similar shrugging posture to the RWS, as well as a ship in the background (and I suppose a pretty silly hat), but the Sil figure isn’t juggling, despite being so very clown coded. Their balancing act is represented by their riding a bicycle with uneven wheels. It’s more stable than a unicycle, but still takes careful balance to ride. And yet, our figure rides it with ease, beneath a canopy of hanging stars. There’s something interesting to me about the stars being hung, implying their position is fixed, or at least beyond the scope of the Two of Pents’ ability to change. Some are affixed to his hat, reminding me of a natal chart, and making me wonder if the ship is fixed to his hat as well. It’s a fun meditation on the interplay of fixed destiny and personal agency, to say the least.

The Magician’s infinity halo continues in the Children of the Wheel decks, as well as holding or carrying symbols of the four classical elements. And while the Litha deck still displays a fairly obvious nod to balance with the mountain goats, Ostara gets a little more obscure. The Sun and Moon share the same sky in this card’s art, and while the guidebook says that quince is historically associated with unity, I gotta say, the Ostara Two of Pents doesn’t do much for me, iconographically. If this were my first deck, I think I’d struggle to find a connection between the art of the card and its intended meaning. It does, however, share some color palette connections with the Magician, highlighting shades of pink and green, unlike the Litha duo, which I would never think to connect in a million years based on just these two cards alone.

Cards like this make me especially grateful I learned a lot of my early tarot interpretation from HillbillyOracle’s advice of reading vertically. It’s because of that technique that I found all the minor Two’s to be “baby” versions of certain Major cards - Two of Pents shares themes with the Magician, Two of Cups mirrors the Lovers, Two of Wands calls to mind Strength, and Two of Swords echoes The Hanged Man. Your mileage may vary, but I’ve found it very, very helpful to utilize these “baby majors” in my readings, as a way of saying “this touches on a major life theme, but in a less dramatic way than the Major Arcana would”. I’ve always loved exploring connections in the cards like these (the 5 and 7 of wands being another great example), and I’m excited to see what kinds of connections shake out as I continue with this project.

The Nameless One is actually pretty similar to the RWS this time, as long as one accounts for its dedication to not utilize human figures. The coins are in a similar dynamic balance to the RWS Two of Pents, and the Nameless Magician has all the elemental hallmarks the other decks have. And I can see some similarities in their sigils, with themes of balance and a general “above to below” directionality. Again, I don’t think I’d confuse them as often as I do the Shadowscapes duo, but I could see a case being made for the Two of Pents holding all four elements: the sun and moon do double duty as celestial for air, and fire and water respectively, and of course, their very coins are there to represent earth.

When I first pulled these cards out to compare, I thought I’d grabbed the Three of Pents by mistake. I skipped ahead, and found the imagery for the Three much more what I’d expect for the Two. Was this a mistake? Upon reading the entries for this and the Magician, I think its more due to the authors’ take on Celtic symbolism incorporating a lot of threes. Both the Two of Pents and the Magician feature twisting roots and an interconnectedness motif, and the bringing of change from one area to another. I think this deck is simply a fairly large departure from the RWS, if its truly connected to it at all. I’d have to do a lot more research into the authors and their respective ideologies, but I like that all the Celtic inspiration opens up my idea of what these tarot cards “should” be. I’m very glad I decided to include it in this exercise!

That’s it for my duo on the Magician and Two of Pentacles. What a balancing act indeed, to work with two cards at once! Stay tuned for next time when I’ll be covering The High Priestess at least, and who knows what else.